Fake immigration attorney charged with defrauding Caribbean clients

The United States (US) Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) agency says a south New Jersey man has been charged with for operating a fake immigration law practice for years, defrauding at least 74 victims, including Caribbean immigrants.

ICE said Leaford George Cameron is facing mail fraud, wire fraud, and false statement charges for the alleged fraudulent scheme.

US Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) authorities are seeking any additional 'clients' who could have been victimised by the alleged impostor attorney,

ICE said, Cameron, 62, allegedly operated his fake law practices out of his home in Burlington, New Jersey.

The indictment alleges that from 2003 through 2015, Cameron operated the practice, where he pretended to be a lawyer in order to defraud the victim 'clients' who paid him for what they believed was legitimate legal representation.

His victims were residents of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Jamaica and India, ICE said.

"The longevity of Cameron's alleged fraud, the amount of victims already identified, and far reaching impact in this case is staggering," said John P. Kelleghan, special agent in charge for HSI Philadelphia.

"HSI will continue to investigate and seek out those who may have fallen prey to this alleged impostor's scheme. We encourage anyone with any contact with this person to contact us right away."

ICE said Cameron also operated a fake law firm, appeared and spoke in court as the lawyer representing his victims, and filed various legal motions and forms in his victims' cases in which he indicated - often under the penalty of perjury - that he was an attorney licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Cameron used four separate Pennsylvania attorney identification numbers when filing legal forms, all of which belonged to other actual licensed Pennsylvania attorneys, ICE said.

It said Cameron fraudulently represented clients in various legal matters, primarily immigration matters pending before US Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the Executive Office for Immigration Review, a component of the US Department of Justice.

ICE said If convicted of all charges, Cameron faces a statutory maximum sentence of 75 years in prison, up to US$1.5 million in fines, three years of supervised release, and a US$600 special assessment.